More Adventures on the Sugar Daddy!

First comes love, then comes marriage and then I get to redecorate the houseboat !!   Denny said he fell in love with my sons, Rich and Chris, and that sure sealed the deal for me!  He was kind and patient and very thoughtful and it was just what the Doctor ordered for us.  So, marriage proposals were made, and yes, he did go ask my Dad for permission, and Mom and I went fast to work on planning the celebration.   We set the date for early June so that we would have the whole summer ahead of us to be with the boys on the lake.    We set the location at my parents home in Hot Springs, it was a wonderful home and especially when filled with lots and lots of people.  Their great room was around 2000 sq ft and had a small pool (remind me to tell you about my Dad, Donna Summers and the pool someday).  My Mom was never afraid of the dramatic and had a major flair for style so went for a Polynesian feel (remember this was not my first wedding ) and floated candles and flowers in the pool.  All in all it was a fabulous celebration and a great way to kick off our years together.   It wasn't too many summers later that I mentioned to Denny that as much as we loved being on the boat it really needed to be freshened up....flooring,paint ,kitchen and so much more so I began the process after the first of the year knowing we wouldn't want any down time when the weather started warming up.   I pulled my crew together and made my selections and we gutted the interior.  Being one that isn't afraid to do something different I chose a new laminate floor that looked like large stone tile .  Most boats were carpeted but I wanted carefree and easy to maintain.   I had a couple of bolts of a great fabric left over from a job so I created roman shades for the galley windows.   To complete the goal of total relaxation I selected a leather sectional with three recliners and then added an accent chair that was a recliner and a wonderful Persian rug.........who puts Persian rugs on houseboats..............I  DO !   I hung a small chandelier over a woven rattan table with glass top and the breakfast/dining area was complete.  Add the pictures of our great times together and some soft lighting for night , a nice tv and we were ready for extended stays. I wish I had the photos to share with you but hopefully you can visualize it!!!   The upper deck was a place for sun and dining.. we could host thirty people easily and boy did they love cruisin and sippin!!  I would make white and red sangria and have pretty pitchers of it available and of course lots of sunscreen!!  Photo of the upper deck from a feature in At Home in Arkansas!  What a spread! The redecoration of the houseboat turned out great and Denny absolutely loved it , in fact he was always saying, Why can't we just live here "?  So, one year when we had sold our lake home in town he suggested that till we decided what we were going to do that we move out to the boat. It was late August and perfect. The boating season had begun to dwindle and we were alone for the most part.  This went very well till October and I mentioned that I didn't think I 'd like to spend a winter without a fireplace.............well, I came home from work that evening to a new electric fireplace that was perfect !!   I didn't complain about being there until it was very close to Christmas and no place for a tree and all the kids...........so we moved to town.   It wasn't long til we were just so busy in town that we decided to sell the Sugar Daddy.  Our family couldn't believe that we would do that to THEM !    Looking back I can't believe we did it to ourselves because it was the one place where cares just melted away, quiet when you needed it , a party when you wanted it and always giving us happiness.   We all had the perfect memories.  How many can smile and say they have had a Sugar Daddy ?